It’s probably safe to say that on a high level your main
goals are quick, efficient and effective service. If your fleet owns its own
shops, this question becomes one you have to not only ask, but answer and then
make the goal a reality.

The phrase “time is money” perhaps applies to no other
industry more than the trucking industry, where every second your trucks are
not out on the road running routes is revenue lost. A big part of this is
maintenance-related downtime; specifically, unplanned maintenance. You do your
best to ensure PM practices are performed, but unplanned maintenance events
still happen on the open road.

And when they do, and your truck has to be taken into the
shop, the ideal result is an accurate diagnosis, a thorough repair, and an efficient
process all the way through.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

It starts with the diagnosis. Think of all of the hours an
incorrect diagnosis adds before the repair even begins, never mind the cost of
harmful or incomplete repairs.

So how do you ensure that the diagnosis is both quick and
correct?

“Having access to complete truck repair
information is the key to ensure an accurate diagnosis and to avoid
‘throwing parts’ at the problem,” said Kristy LaPage, business manager for the
Mitchell 1 commercial vehicle group. “With today’s advanced vehicles,
technicians can no longer rely on their experience and gut instinct alone. They
also need the right technology tools to get to the proper diagnosis.”

Once the cause is identified, there’s the matter of going
through the correct steps to fix the problem.

One thing many heavy-duty shops tend to have trouble with is
prioritizing repairs—some may take a couple hours, some a couple of days.
Knowing which is which and how to tackle it is why many shops have triage
lanes—a dedicated space for those four-hour-or-less repairs. This ensures
they’re moving through the shop fast and not getting stuck behind trucks that
may have gotten there sooner but will take days to fix.

Minutes spent on repair guesswork add up over the course of
the day, week and month. One reason many shops use repair software is so that,
once that root cause is identified, the technician can immediately and
confidently begin what he or she knows is the correct repair procedure. In
addition to the knowledge that the repair is being done right, there’s no
better way to ensure a speedy repair than to simply know the steps you need to
follow — and follow them.

Take Mitchell 1’s TruckSeries repair information
software, for example. It includes diagrams and images like wiring diagrams and
photos of component locations, as well as testing procedures and estimated
labor times. Complete, targeted data is presented in a user-friendly interface
that puts the exact information the technician needs right at their fingertips,
enabling them to plan their day in a more efficient way.

“Being able to look up repair procedures and specifications
in advance to understand what the job entails is valuable when scheduling a
tech’s time and setting priorities for certain jobs,” said LaPage. “This
includes things like the expected time to complete the job, special tools and/or
equipment needed and potential skill level required.”

Now that you know what you want out of the service process,
how are you going to get it?

If your fleet owns its shops, it’s worth considering the
difference it could make to invest in software, on both the fleet side and the
service side of the business. If time is money, then the time your shops will
save by properly utilizing software is just money sitting in the bank, waiting
to be withdrawn.